While the world has been transfixed on the fact that it's been 20 years since Buffy The Vampire Slayer first aired, let's not forget another 20th anniversary of a popular 90s show is rapidly approaching. Next January will mark two decades since the beginning of Dawson's Creek, and while the cast will probably be excited to talk about the glory days at that point, maybe it's best not to blindside James Van Der Beek with questions when he's promoting a completely different project. These two U.K. daytime talk show hosts did, and it was a trainwreck:
Just in case you were spent less time listening and more time watching James Van Der Beek's internal-screaming faces, This Morning hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield spent just under half of their five-minute interview discussing Dawson's Creek. That likely threw James for a loop considering he came on the show to promote his upcoming family comedy Carters Get Rich, which will be airing on U.K.'s Sky 1 network March 30th. You wouldn't know that was the focus, though, considering the entire crew went straight up fanboy on Van Der Beek, and was apparently blasting Paula Cole backstage before the segment started. It's definitely not the best way to start off an interview.
It's also a little tacky to do that kind of thing without any forewarning, as evidenced repeatedly by James Van Der Beek's awkward smiles. Past projects and stuff of that nature are always going to come up, but as a professional courtesy, perhaps everyone should have checked before crafting those then-and-now graphics and downloading the Dawson's soundtrack on Spotify. Had This Morning even led with a coy joke and moved on, I think they would've been safe, but they lingered all too long.
It also kind of doesn't make sense, as host Phillip Schofield points out in the video that James Van Der Beek never watched Dawson's Creek all the way through. With so many takes, cuts, and scenes shot out of sequence during filming, I'm sure Van Der Beek isn't familiar with a lot of the series outside of Dawson Leery, so his limited context doesn't work so well for their questions. There are probably a few people reading this that would be able to give a better interview than he can without any prep time.
While he was uncomfortable, I don't think that necessarily means that James Van Der Beek doesn't like Dawson's Creek. Actors and actresses not wishing to watch themselves on screen are common, and you'd be surprised at the list of people who haven't seen the shows that made them famous. Maybe this encounter will lead Van Der Beek to binge all six seasons of the series before the 20th anniversary in January, so he'll be more prepared for moments like these in the future.
He might also just continue to let the past be the past and check out our midseason premiere guide and summer premiere schedule so that he can dive into new shows and further escape Dawson Creek's shadow.
